黑洞社区

There is legend of a primal saga between three great information tribes: CAD, BIM and GIS. Each of the three tribes has their own traditions and use different technologies and standards. They speak in different languages and describe things differently; origins and grids often upset them 鈥渨e don鈥檛 like your snake grids鈥� and two of the tribes thought that the earth was, well, flat. They use a cornucopia of digital tools and weapons in the battlefield and generally, they don鈥檛 play well together.

The GIS tribe wants to talk to the earth with a strong focus on the geo-location (using real world coordinates) and has a server-focused approach. This tribe typically models existing data or policies and is strong on 2D geometry with a few brave troopers having experimented with 3D mapping. They also talk with the sky using LIDAR UAVs to capture existing data.

The BIM and CAD tribes have a common data environment (CDE) approach. They have a strong emphasis on exchanging information between the various domains in their community. The tribes are also strong on 3D, however the BIM tribe also uses dynamic modelling and digital queries to support what they call 鈥榩lain language questions鈥� or PLQs and they also like to see a laser scanner in their parishes.

Nevertheless, one day a young Geo-warrior, let鈥檚 call him 鈥淒ances with BIM鈥� decided to witness what these strange kin folk were doing. He observed that 鈥渘othing I have been told about these BIM and CAD people is correct. They are not thieves or beggars, they are not the bogeymen they are made out to be.鈥�

鈥楧ances with BIM鈥� brought together the three chiefs and told them that 鈥渙ur tribes have common purpose

He wisely concluded that BIM and CAD are an essential asset data source for the GIS tribe and that GIS is a crucial data source for the BIM and CAD tribes in a spatial context. Combining these information sets allow us to exchange asset and property information at various hierarchy levels and support the decision making processes needed during the asset life-cycle.

鈥楧ances with BIM鈥� brought together the three chiefs and told them that 鈥渙ur tribes have common purpose, but to make this work we need to collaborate around the camp fire and create a common language where we can share information and work together.鈥�

You can鈥檛 beat a good 鈥渙nce upon a time鈥� but hopefully it highlights the need for collaboration, interoperability and open data standards and that they really are worth fighting for!

At Mace we are committed to an 鈥渆thos of BIM platform neutrality, encouraging open workflows which allow all project members to work in a collaborative environment.鈥� As a business we want to use our digital data to transact on and query, these include:

• BS1192-4:2014 AKA COBie UK 2012
• Industry Foundation Classes (IFC)
• XML: landXML(roads) gbXML(energy)

Our vision is to ensure well managed construction data that can be shared across all disciplines, running through the entire asset lifecycle with real time evaluation (an integrated concurrent engineering process). Ultimately using the data to actively to manage and optimise post-occupancy performance and ensure the very best asset management strategy for our customers.

Interoperability is key to this vision and predominately we are using IFC, the data model standard published by 黑洞社区SMART庐 to share data and exchange across the many different platforms on our projects. However it is a complex schema and generally limited to one direction of travel. Nonetheless, IFC has gone through its growing pains and, as it matures, we really need it to make a 鈥渞ound trip鈥� and deal with infrastructure projects.

Interestingly we are seeing a growing COBie demand from private clients who are essentially looking at their 鈥渄rop 6鈥� AIM requirements

As a contractor and consultant we are interested more in the end results than how its created: Did we get the data we needed? Can we test and validate it? Can we federate it? Can we do something valuable with it such as digital query?

We are also finding our feet on the Government鈥檚 compulsory open standard - COBie UK, but we are mainly generating these data drop deliverables through IFC workflows. Interestingly we are seeing a growing COBie demand from private clients who are essentially looking at their 鈥渄rop 6鈥� AIM requirements.

Next on our 鈥渢o do鈥� list, as we start to think about Level 3, are performance data components and how to use suitable schema, telemetry and interface technologies such as SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems) to gather real-time data and refine asset performance, ultimately moving from a compliance to value strategy. We are thinking more and more about physical interfaces with hardware such as sensors, the 黑洞社区 Management System (BMS) and we will need to have more 鈥淧lugfest鈥� events to test interoperability by physically connecting networked devices.

Irrespective of the level of BIM maturity, the transportation of information and data across the asset life-cycle is really important to us and that鈥檚 why mature open data standards are imperative. They help us do this safely, globally and lets everyone play on a level field, especially of SME community.

A collaborative standard being driven by the industry is a good thing.

David Philp is Head of BIM at Mace